Genma waited until Raidou had gone before he sank back against the pillow. “You are going to let me go talk to the Ehime family, aren’t you?”

“Once you’re admitted I suppose I can’t stop you,” Nakamura said. “You’ll be the ward medic’s problem then, not mine. But you might want to have a look in the mirror before you go. You said they were civilians, right?”

“Civilians, yes.”

“You're in a hospital gown with an IV in, and tanuki circles under your eyes. Did they know how badly you were wounded? And have they actually seen your face?”

Genma chuckled.

“How’s that funny?”

“My mask’s a tanuki,” Genma said. “So at least they’ll recognize me.”

Nakamura smiled. “Somehow I doubt that will comfort them.”

The doctor had a point. None of the civilians had seen Genma’s face—throughout their journey home, he’d been masked. Though they’d seen him paralyzed that first night, he’d done his best to hide the extent of his injuries once he was up and moving. He’d reassured them the poison was completely out of his system and his wounds minor, knowing both were lies. There was nothing to be gained from making them worry about the medic keeping their daughter stable.

“How bad are those labs, anyway?” he asked.

Nakamura handed him a sheet of paper littered with abbreviations and numbers. Genma flicked his eyes over the page, feeling the fight go out of himself as he read. He looked up when he’d reached the bottom. Nakamura raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, okay,” Genma said, handing the paper back with a sigh. “I’d make me stay in hospital, too.”

“Nohara-sensei and Hyuuga Hatori-sensei have developed some excellent new techniques for exactly this kind of thing,” Nakamura said. “I’m sure they’ll have you out of here in just a day or so.”

Great, Genma thought. So much for meeting the captain tomorrow morning.

“This is all set, sensei,” the nurse said. She opened up the stopcock on the IV line—the solution flowing in felt cold and strange.

“I really do have to go see Ehime-san,” Genma said. “And I don’t want to look terrible. Can I change back into uniform?”

“You want me to unhook this IV that I just started so you don’t have to be seen in a hospital gown?” she asked. There was a whole universe of I don’t think so behind her question.

“Please?”

“Sorry, no. You’re going to the ward, getting a bed assigned, and getting your meds started,” Nakamura said, curtailing discussion. “But I’ll go talk to the family for you, and tell them where they can find you.”

Some days there was just no winning. Genma closed his eyes and nodded. “It was worth trying.”

“It’s always worth trying,” Nakamura agreed. “Feel better, and don’t let me see you as a patient again anytime soon, Shiranui-kun.”

“Sensei,” Genma said, tapping a tired salute.